04/27:
I don't normally ask for help, but I have to take my darling 12 year old kitty to the vet tomorrow. I have no idea how much it will cost me, but I do know it will mean I'll be short on paying rent next week.

I'm estimating $500 for a "worst case scenario" - it will more likely be less than $200, but to be honest, I have a lot of bills I'm trying to get caught up on, so anything extra will go towards that and will still be helping me.

04/30:
Apologies for the late update! Cleo went to the vet on Saturday, and he believes she has a urinary tract infection. She was given a shot for inflammation and pain, and put on antibiotics. We'll follow up with the vet later this week.

On the way home from the vet, she urinated in her carrier, all over herself. :( I was cleaning her up when we got home, and her anal glands started expressing, so I suspect that may have been part of the problem.

She seems to be feeling quite a bit better now, she's moving around a lot more and going to the bathroom and not crying at night.

The money I've raised so far covers the vet visit, but more always helps, in case she needs to go back, or at the very least, it will help me pay all my bills on time.

Thanks to everyone who has donated so far, or shared my link with anyone they know!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

I'm going to try to post more on this about whatever projects I may be doing. Right now, I'm cooking a lot, so expect pictures of what I make and what I take to lunch and such. In the future, I'm going to be lovingly restoring my mom's 1963 Schwinn Hollywood, so there will be a lot of bike stuff. And always, ALWAYS, some knitting.

Monday, March 22, 2010

South by Southwest is officially over (though we still have a couple of guests), so I can take a few minutes to tell you how awesome it was to once again hang out with peoplewhohaveWikipediapages. I got to meet Jesse and MC Frontalot last year, so that was cool to see those guys again, and actually get to spend more time with Jesse. More or Les was here last year, but I didn't get to meet him then, and I'm super glad I got to this time, cause he's wicked nice. Schaffer the Darklord was also here, and that is a longer story for later in this post. And before I forget about him, let's not forget Fresh Kils - he's a producer/engineer/beat maker, who has been sleeping on my couch and using all my internets.

Being that I hosted an international artist this year, I got a free wristband. However, I did not make much use of it, due to physical limitations and weather conditions. Next year should be better - I'm going to work on the physical limitations, and get a better cold weather coat, and knit more, so I will have appropriate attire should it be chilly.

So let's start off with Saturday, the 13th. Frontalot was the only one in town, and he played a party for io9 and Gawker. There were stormtroopers, and Boba Fett, and swordfighting. There was also music, and free drinks, and a very nice smoking area.

We ended up calling it an early night, though we made sure to see Front play and say hi before we left. He was awesome, as always, but I missed the rest of his band sorely. (Especially Blak Lotus, who is mega-adorable and talented.)

Sunday was pretty chill, Jared and I just hung out. By Monday, Les was in town by then, as was Random aka MegaRan (didn't get to hang out much with him, but he was fairly awesome). They did a non-SXSW show at Flamingo Cantina, which was totally awesome - with a couple exceptions (let's hear it for red shirt girl, those of you that were there).

More or Les

MC Frontalot

Tuesday is when my week got fucking unbelievable. (And here is where I start gushing like a fangirl.) A little back story - Schaffer the Darklord is my favorite of the nerdcore rappers, and one of my favorite musicians in general, and it has been so since I was introduced to his music. His sound is a bit more "rock" than "hip hop", and he has these snarky, dark, sarcastic lyrics that really appeal to me. Plus he's massively adorable, and I may or may not have a giant crush on him.

Anyway, Les had to rent some equipment, so Jared and Tiffani and I went to keep him company in line while he waited (it was HOURS, they had a terrible system). At one point, I checked my Facebook on my phone, and saw that Schaffer had just posted the following: "Any Austinites and/or SXSW-goers have a recommendation for the best way to travel from the airport to the Austin Convention Center?" To which I replied, "When are you getting in? I'd be willing to come get you." (Shall we say that I am impulsive, and very willing to make this city an awesome experience for my favorite musicians, so that they will be enticed to come back?) To my massive surprise, he took me up on it, and sent me a message with his flight details. That night, we picked up Fresh Kils at the airport, and went to the nerd BBQ, where I forgot to take pictures.

The next morning, I trekked back to the airport to get Schaffer. After some confusion about recognizing each other, we got him loaded into my car, and headed downtown. I showed him where he needed to be, and introduced him to my friends, and went to catch the nerdcore panel that Jesse, Random, and Front were doing. After that, the guys did some shit around the convention center for an hour or so, and we decided we wanted some food. I sent Schaffer and Front text messages in case they wanted to join us, which they both did (though Front had to leave because it was taking too long and he had other shit to do). After food, there was still about an hour and a half until they had to be at the venue, so Jesse, Les, and Kils went back to the convention center to practice. Schaffer decided to hang around with us (cause we're so exciting, right?)

We basically just wandered around downtown for that time, talking, and getting coffee, and such. I also think there was some plotting against the Canadians, Jesse specifically, but it was all in fun. We got Schaffer to the venue, did what we could to help him get set up (and most of us worked the merch table at least on point during the night, though Tiffani and Jared did most of the work). This was the official showcase, so it was kind of a big deal. There was loads of Jesse and Les - there was another guy from their label that couldn't make it, so they split the extra time between them. Then Schaffer went on. (Amazing, amazing show. I didn't even realize until it was over that he didn't play any of my very favorites, I'm cool with that. Probably would have had a nerdgasm on the spot if he had been that awesome and played my favorites. The awesomeness would have been exponential.) He was followed by Random, ytcracker, and k.flay, who were all quite good, but I had to sit down for them due to some knee trouble.

Jesse Dangerously

More or Les

Schaffer the Darklord

After k.flay, MC Frontalot played, and Schaffer did a song with him, which was wicked cool. I failed at getting pictures during that set - I was busy trying not to get elbowed in the eye by a couple of really drunk girls to my left.

Earlier in the day, I had asked Schaffer where he was staying - he wasn't really sure, so I offered him couch/floor space if he wanted. He didn't take me up on the offer immediately, but, after the show, decided he would stay with us, since I wasn't doing anything the next day and could easily get him to the airport. For the rest of my week, I mostly stayed in, though we did get out Friday for Les and Kils to do some busking.

I dropped Les off at the airport this morning, Kils is going back tomorrow morning, and I think Jesse is moving in with us or something (seriously, he's going home Wednesday or Thursday).

With another awesome SXSW journey under my belt, and the awesomeness of meeting awesome rappers I hadn't met before (and love even more now that I've met them), I'll leave you with one last picture, taken during the song Schaffer did with Front, in which Schaffer is the creepiest looking person ever photographed. (If you actually read this, Mark, know that I have nothing but love for you, but in this picture, you're staring right at me, and your eyes follow me everywhere I go. Come sleep at my place again soon. But don't block my route to the coffee this time.)

And yes, I am watching the Olympics. I do not enjoy sports in general, but I LOVE me some Winte5 Olympics. I don't even really like watching the Summer Olympics. I'm weird, I guess. Maybe it's the sheer speed of the winter sports, or the fact that I could NEVER do any of them (cold urticaria - the picture of the leg with hives on it is mine).

I also made some yarn purchases yesterday, but I think I'll save those pictures for tomorrow. :)

Monday, January 04, 2010

For those that don't know, I was sick for most of last year. Starting in January, ending in November. On November 1st, after two trips to the ER, they found out what was wrong. Gall stones. Specifically, one large gall stone that was almost the size of my gall bladder. On November 10th, I had emergency surgery to have it removed (the surgery was originally to be scheduled in early December, but my pain was far too intense). Since then, everything has improved: my appetite, my health, my mood - everything.

Jared and I also celebrated our second anniversary, moved into a new apartment, and were caught in a blizzard in Oklahoma. Not in that order.

The anniversary was uneventful, due to just escaping said blizzard the day before more snow arrived, and moving into a new apartment at the same time. The blizzard was cold. Pretty, but cold. Here are some pictures taken at my parents house when the snow first started to fall.

And my mom, who is so awesome that I aspire to be like her someday:

That's my dad, grandfather, and nephew in the background.

The new apartment is AMAZING, and I totally love it. It's larger and less expensive than our old one, with a bigger kitchen and a den/small second bedroom for computers and yarn. Once things are all unpacked and less crazy, I'll get some pictures of it.

I got this awesome coffee maker for Christmas from Jared's parents, and we also got a small Ryobi drill and a fancy corksrew from them as well. The drill and coffee maker take turns being my favorite gifts, usually depending on which I'm using at the time. The coffee maker has an internal carafe that heats evenly from the bottom and four sides, which means that 4 hours after I brew coffee, it's still warm (not scalding, but still fairly hot) and doesn't taste burnt. YAY. Kira's taking bets on when the coffee maker will move from the kitchen to the office (for coffee-fueled WoW raids).

And I updated my Ravelry with more of my yarn, and some old projects, so check that out if you haven't yet.

Anyway, I'll try to post here more, and have more knitting content. Last year was just crazy. Hopefully 2010 will be better. If anyone's still out there reading this, feel free to say hey so I know not to give up blogging. It's a catch 22 - when I got more comments, I'd generally blog more, but I needed to blog more to keep my readers.